Tourist Flow and Tourism Potential Regions of Gulmarg in Kashmirhimalayas

Home , Gulmarg

Global Journal of HUMAN SOCIAL SCIENCE Geography, Geo-Sciences, Environmental Disaster Management Volume 13 Issue 4 Version 1.0 Year 2013 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Inc. (USA) Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X

Tourist Flow and Tourism Potential Regions of Gulmarg in Kashmir Himalayas By Nissar A. Kuchay & M. Sultan Bhat University of Kashmir, India Abstract - Gulmarg has a rich and diverse touristic product that holds the potential to be one of the most attractive tourist destinations for both leisure and sports tourism across the whole Kashmir Himalayan region. The place owes its importance mainly to its beautiful geo- environmental setup and unique climate. The destination has a history of tourism activities for more than five centuries. The resort has been a great attraction for several British officials posted in India and their families made Gulmarg their home for the summer months. This his to- geographical personality of the place has resulted in the development of tourist regions of interest to a range of tastes especially for holiday makers and sports and adventure tourists. Therefore present study aims at identification and delineation of the different tourist potential regions of the place which would help in proper marketing of the tourist product, management of tourist flow, optimization of economic returns and management of the environmental health of the destination for sustainable tourism development in the region.

GJHSS-B Classification : FOR Code : 040699

Tourist Flow and Tourism Potential Regions of Gulmarg in Kashmir Himalayas

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© 2013. Nissar A. Kuchay & M. Sultan Bhat. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Tourist Flow and Tourism Potential Regions of Gulmarg in Kashmir Himalayas

Nissar A. Kuchay α & M. Sultan Bhat σ

Abstract - Gulmarg has a rich and diverse touristic product that A tourism region is a geographical region that holds the potential to be one of the most attractive tourist has been designated specifically for tourism purposes. 3 destinations for both leisure and sports tourism across the

The names often evoke certain positive qualities of the 201 whole Kashmir Himalayan region. The place owes its area and suggest a coherent tourism experience to importance mainly to its beautiful geo-environmental setup visitors. Countries, states, provinces, and other ad- Y ear and unique climate. The destination has a history of tourism minis-trative regions are often carved up into tourism activities for more than five centuries. The resort has been a

great attraction for several British officials posted in India and regions. In addition to drawing the attention of potential their families made Gulmarg their home for the summer tourists, these tourism regions often provide tourists who 29 months. This his to-geographical personality of the place has are otherwise unfamiliar with an area with a manageable resulted in the development of tourist regions of interest to a number of attractive options. Besides it also helps in the range of tastes especially for holiday makers and sports and management of environment and regulation of tourist adventure tourists. Therefore present study aims at flow for the sustainable management of tourist identification and delineation of the different tourist potential destinations. regions of the place which would help in proper marketing of the tourist product, management of tourist flow, optimization of II. Study Area economic returns and management of the environmental health of the destination for sustainable tourism development The Gulmarg is believed to have been called in the region. 'Gurimarg' in ancient times and the modification of the original name is said to have been made at the instance I. ntroduction I of 15th Century Kashmiri king Sultan Yusuf Shah Chak, ustainable tourism is envisaged as leading to who was enamored with the place. If it were historical

management of all resources in such a way that endorsements that Gulmarg sought, then the visits of Volume XIII Issue IV Version I

economic, social and aesthetic needs can be the Mughal emperor Jahangir established the measure ) DDD D B

S fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential of its worth. The resort was a great attraction for several ( ecological processes, biological diversity and life British officials posted in India and their families made ce n support systems (World Tourism Organization).There Gulmarg their home for the summer months. The e has been an up-trend in tourism over the last few presence of these holiday-makers was also responsible ci decades, Tourists have a wide range of budgets and for the foundations of the two activities that Gulmarg al S ci tastes, and a wide variety of resorts and hotels have today is best known for – golf and skiing, initiation of o S developed to cater for them. The developments in both dating back to the early twentieth century. Gulmarg technology transport and infrastructure made many is located 46 km from Srinagar city, geographical types of tourism more affordable. This is substantiated coordinate’s 34.05°N 74.38°E. It has an average uman

by the fact that international tourism receipts grew elevation of 2,690 m above mean sea level. The f H to US$1.03 trillion in 2011, corresponding to an average temperature varies from its minimum of -4°C in al o increase in real terms of 3.8per cent from 2010. January to maximum of 31°C in the month of July. The n r

location of Gulmarg is visualized in Fig.1. u Sustainable tourism can be seen as having o regard to ecological and socio-cultural carrying al J capacities and includes involving the community of the b lo destination in tourism development planning. It also G Involves integrating tourism to match current economic And growth policies so as to mitigate some of the negative economic and social impacts of 'mass tourism'. Murphy (1985) advocates the use of an ecological approach, to consider both plants and people when implementing the sustainable tourism development process.

Author α σ : Department of Geography and Regional Development, University of Kashmir, J&K, India. E-mail : [email protected]

ear Y

30202

Figure 1 : Location map of Gulmarg Development Area Volume XIII Issue IV Version I

) Muslim rulers like Yusuf Shah Chak and the Britshers

DDD III. aterials and ethods D M M B

( ruling India. Table I depicts the category wise flow of The survey of India tope sheets at 1:25000 tourists during last five years. Gulmarg remains a scales along with IRS P6 satellite data were used for the preferred destination not only to locals but to the delineation of Gulmarg development area. Data domestic and international tourists as well. Generally regarding different variables was generated through most of the tourists who visit Kashmir valley prefer to primary survey in addition to the available secondary visit to Gulmarg as well. The category wise annual data. A series of indices based on natural beauty, pattern of tourist flow to Gulmarg is represented in Fig. 2 adventures and sports, infrastructure, transportation and which reflects the increasing trend in the flow of tourists communication etc. were prepared and their composite to Gulmarg, in the year 2011 about 1.4 million tourists score were used for the delineation of different tourist visited the place however this number has been reached regions. in July and the total tourist flow has cross 2 million mark IV. Results and Discussions by the end of this year (2012).

ournal ofSocial Science Humanournal a) Tourist Flow to Gulmarg

Gulmarg has a long history of tourist activities al J as it has remained a favourite destination of early

Glob Table 1 : Category wise Tourist Flow to Gulmarg

Year Local Domestic Foreign Total 2006 104247 390311 8101 502659

2007 268968 330466 20109 619543

2008 287934 422756 12994 723681 2009 270123 308136 6003 584262

2010 135921 319545 6773 462239

2011 425189 990460 7282 1422931

2012* 615849 1456128 7370 2079347

Source: Office of the Assistant Director Tourism, Gulmarg (*Figures for December, 2012 are projected)

2200000 2000000 1800000 1600000 1400000 1200000 Foreign 1000000 Local

800000 3 Domestic

600000 201

400000 Y ear 200000

0 31 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012*

Figure 2 : Category-Wise Annual Pattern of Tourist Flow to Gulmarg, 2006-2012 (*Figures projected for December, 2012)

Gulmarg is an all-weather resort with refreshing that in the year 2011 maximum tourist flow has been in summer meadows and pastoral scenes and deep- the months of June -July and October-November, powder, long-run skiing and snowboarding during whereas, this year the flow has been consistently winters. Therefore tourist flow to this all season tourist increasing from February itself and all the months have destination continues throughout the year. Table II registered an increase over the past year except the reflects the monthly flow pattern of tourists of different month of July. categories visiting Gulmarg. It is clear from the Fig. No 3

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Table 2 : Category wise Monthly Tourist Flow to Gulmarg (2011,12) )

DDD D B

(

2011 2012* n

Month e ci Domestic Local Foreign Domestic Local Foreign al S

January 12533 7366 334 30694 15691 444 ci o February 9355 7303 785 68388 32888 749 S March 19544 9961 664 105868 50187 763 uman April 32463 10470 1043 150371 80304 916 f H May 78661 35175 324 180346 70781 508 al o

June 216957 103105 445 290525 110201 311 n r u

July 222298 159335 479 133337 130790 363 o

Augus t 73835 25729 432 97641 23241 449 al J b

September 35756 18982 601 59292 37245 587 lo G October 124391 17855 488 156328 26585 502 November 118456 15934 447 127715 17439 463 December 46211 13974 1240 55623 20497 1315 Total 990460 425189 7282 1456128 615849 7370

Source: Gulmarg Development Authority

450000 400000 350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 Foreign 100000 Local

3 50000 Domestic 201

0 y ar

July July

ear May May June June April April Y March March

August August January Janu October October February February December December November November September 32202 September

2011 2012*

Figure 3 : Monthly flow of tourists to Gulmarg during 2011-12

(*Figures from August to December, 2012 are projected) b) Tourist Perception

A brief survey of tourist perception in order to positive level of satisfaction about most of the services. gauge the level of satisfaction about the availability of However, the level of satisfaction about the tour various tourist services has been conducted as reflected operators is considerably poor which needs to be in Table III. The tourists have expressed mostly a improved by way of initiating necessary measures.

Table 3 : Index showing level of satisfaction of the tourists with respect to selected indicators at Gulmarg

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( S. Selected indicators Tourist Perception (in percentage) No Excellent Best Good Satisfactory Poor 01 Climate 87 10 03 0 0 02 Attitude of Local People 14 65 10 05 06 03 Availability of tour 0 25 30 10 35 Operators 04 Acc essibility 51 27 13 09 0 05 Accommod ation 57 20 10 06 07 06 Satisfaction with the 0 11 49 25 15 fulfilment of vow 07 Loc al Traffic 48 21 10 08 13 08 Pa rking facility 51 21 12 10 05 ournal ofSocial Science Humanournal 09 Events 0 45 38 10 07

al J 10 Souvenirs 0 15 0 55 30 11 Pede strian ways 28 24 31 05 12

Glob 12 Parks & Green areas 53 31 5 04 07 13 Landscap e beauty 80 20 0 0 0 14 Quality of water & 38 23 20 06 13 sanitation 15 Shop ping facility 38 24 21 07 10 16 Food availability 32 32 18 07 11 Source: Sample Survey of Tourists, 2011

Note: The weight age of the above indicators with a particular component.eg, for each indicator 20 was derived with the help of scale 1-5.Here 1 means persons have been approached and they have showed that tourists are very unsatisfied with a particular different responses to different indicators giving their

component & 5 means that tourists are very satisfied own weight age.

© 2013 Global Journals Inc. (US) Tourist Flow and Tourism Potential Regions of Gulmarg in Kashmir Himalayas c) Traffic Flow to Gulmarg 4, from April to October (warmer season) the traffic flow The traffic flow of Gulmarg varies from season to Gulmarg is high as compared to other months. This to season round the year. A perusal of Table IV includes all the tourists, local, national and international. highlights the fact that there is a huge flow of tourists The tourists visiting Gulmarg during winter season are during the summer season including local, national and mainly of national and international character because international tourists, while during winter season the of winter sports activities. traffic flow declines to a larger extent. As depicted in Fig.

Table 4 : Monthly Traffic Flow to Gulmarg for the Year 2011

Month Private Cars Sumo/Matador Buses

January 2106 3330 170 3 February 3274 4216 225 201 March 7322 8102 308 April 8417 9209 347

Y ear May 12200 13887 340 June 12748 14019 352

July 13122 14513 363 33 Augus t 11584 12781 251 September 10356 11223 302 October 9693 10336 263 November 7621 7782 207 December 6233 6597 184

Source: Gulmarg Development Authority

30000 25000 20000 15000

Buses Volume XIII Issue IV Version I

10000 ) DDD D

Sumo/Matador B

5000 (

Private Cars ce n

0 e ci al S ci o S

uman Figure 4 : Monthly Traffic Flow Pattern to Gulmarg

f H V. Tourism Potential Regions i. Gondola Lift - Gulmarg to Kangdoori al o

Gondola car is one of the main attractions of the n r

Gulmarg is a multiple attraction tourist place u place. The first of two sections of the cable car rises and offers a varied range of tourist related attraction, o from the cable station at Gulmarg at an altitude of 2700 therefore to analyze the different areas of tourist interest al J m to bowl shaped Kangdoori at an altitude of 3100 m – b it has been divided into following tourist regions. lo a vertical rise of 400m. G a) Gulmarg Gondola Region ii. Gondola Lift – Kangdoori to Afarwat

Gulmarg Gondola is the world's second highest The second stage of the Gulmarg-Afarwat cable and Asia's highest and longest operating cable car since car project connects Kangdoori station at 3100 m with the closure of the Mérida cable car of Venezuela in the heights of Afarwat peak at 3,979 m – Afarwat is the 2008. The gondola operates in two stages – first stage is mountain that looms over Gulmarg and is the magnet from Gulmarg base to the bowl of Kangdoori and the for serious skiers. second stage is from Kangdoori to Ararat peak. The b) Golf Course Region two-stage ropeway ferries about 600 people per hour to and from the gondola main station in Gulmarg to Ararat Gulmarg Golf Course is the world’s highest golf Summit. course. The 18-hole, par 72 Gulmarg golf courses is

quite hilly. The golf club itself was built in 1904, by British of Alpather. Like many other high-altitude lakes in the residents. It also offers table tennis and billiards. mountainous parts of the western Himalayas, this lies in Temporary membership can be bought for the duration a shallow mountain bowl and is surrounded by limited of stay. Course remains open from April to November, plant growth.

after which it is covered in a blanket of snow. This iii. Religious Shrines

Government Golf Course was the second to be built by There are four main religious shrines in and the British in India after the Royal Calcutta Golf Club. By around Gulmarg. A few kilometres from this glade, is the the 1920s the resort had two 18-hole courses, the tomb and shrine 'Ziarat' of the noted Muslim saint Baba ‘Upper Course’ and the ‘Lower Course’ and one 9-hole Rishi built in 1480AD. Other important religious sites middle course (the "Rabbits Course"). The only course to include Rani temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, and the survive, however, exists where the Upper Course used 3 old St. Mary's Church built by the British holiday-makers. to be. It was redesigned in 1970s by Peter Thomson. At 201 Also in Gulmarg's vicinity is the Avantiswami temple that an altitude of 3,730 m Gulmarg golf course is among the dates back to the ninth century and is dedicated to Lord

ear highest & most beautiful green golf course in the world.

Y Vishnu. c) Gulmarg Skiing and snow-boarding Region 34202 While Gulmarg is an all-weather resort with VI. Conclusion

refreshing summer meadows and pastoral scenes, the Nestled with stunning peaks in the Himalayan main reason to come here, at least in winter, is the off- ranges, Gulmarg is a spectacular picnic spot attracting piste, deep-powder, long-run skiing and snowboarding. all kinds of tourists with its lush green backdrop, The Himalayan resort of Gulmarg is one of the newest beautiful landscapes, flowering gardens, serene lakes and increasingly popular ski destinations. Due to its and pleasant climate during the summers and falls. This geographic location Gulmarg gets some of the heaviest imposing hill station was a pleasure resort for kings and snowfalls in the Himalayas and it has earned the royal family members and a summer retreat for the distinction of being the best ski resort in the Himalayas. British officers during the British rule in India. Gulmarg Skiing was first introduced to Gulmarg by two British Gondola, one of the highest cable cars in the world, Army officers who established the first ski club in 1927 reaching 3,979 meters. Gulmarg is the heartland of although it wasn’t until 7-8 years ago when Gulmarg’s winter sports in India. Due to its steep terrain, the region name really first started to appear on the cognoscenti’s is popular amongst advanced and extreme skiers from hot list. Some of the best slopes in the country for around the world and has been visited by a number of Volume XIII Issue IV Version I beginners and intermediate skiers are available at ski professionals. Gulmarg golf club is the highest green ) DDD D Gulmarg. Skiing equipment is available on hire from the B golf course in the world. There are a few places of ( Ski-Shop. In winter Gulmarg’s natural slopes and religious importance near the resort. The summer is inclines turn into the country’s premier skiing resort. Not equally busy. With temperatures ranging from 25 to all tourists who visit in winter come for skiing – some 30 °C, Gulmarg attracts outdoor sports fanatics with its simply are there to watch the skiing or to enjoy a holiday world class golfing, trekking, mountain biking, horse in the snow. Among the multitudes of slopes, there are a riding, water skiing, and fishing. It has been observed few which are serviced by ski lifts. Most of the skiing that the tourist flow is highly imbalances vis-a-vis the becomes centered on these slopes, which are specially various tourist regions and different seasons of the year. suited to beginners and intermediate level skiers, with During the summer months certain regions remain over ski runs ranging from 200 m to 3kms, instructors are crowded, beyond their carrying capacities which is a available for both levels. With the operation of the great threat to the fragile ecological setup of the region. Gulmarg Gondola Cable Car, it has become all the more Therefore, there is an urgent need to regulate the tourist convenient for advanced skiing enthusiasts, as they can flow across the different tourist regions and different gain a ski run of nearly 3 km with the help of this cable ournal ofSocial Science Humanournal seasons of the year through proper marketing, car which goes through Kangdoori to Afarwat.

al J infrastructure development and better accessibility. This d) Other Attractions in turn will help in minimizing the adverse environmental

Glob i. Khilanmarg impacts, maximizing the economic gains and over all sustainable development of the region. A path of some six kilometers and an ascent of about six hundred meters from Gulmarg take to the little eferences éférences eferencias highland dale of Khilanmarg. The narrow bridle path is R R R lined by grassy knolls and a variety of trees and shrubs 1. Choudhury, A.U. (2011). Tourism pressure on high that include masses of daises, mulberry, berberis and elevation IBAs. Mistnet 12(1): 11-12.Gulmarg www.

walnut among others. jandkplanning.com/index.php?option...gulmar. ii. Alpathar Lake 2. Census of India 2001and 2011 Census Commission At a distance of about 13 kilometers from of India. Gulmarg, at an altitude of around 3840 m is the little lake 3. Gulmarg -Yatra. Com www. yatra.com/ holiday

packages /pdf/city guide?city=231387.

4. Gulmarg Alpine Ski Institute www.gulmargalpine

.com/ALPINE%20SKI%20 INSTITUTE.pdf.

5. Gulmarg End of Season Report (2011) Gulmarg

Avalanche Center.

6. Gulmarg, India-Extremely Canadian www. Extremely canadian.com/wpcontent/uploads/.../Gulmarg_2013

.pdf. 7. Kashmir: Water Colour Paintings Kashmir News

Network www.ikashmir.net/dnwalli/doc/ dnwalli.pdf.

8. John Hunt (1997). Beyound Gulmarg- Exploring the 3

Pir Panjal in Thirties. Alpine Journal 189-194. 201 9. www.alpinejournal.org.uk/.../AJ%201997%20189-194

%20Hunt%20Gul. Y ear

10. Sightseeing in Gulmarg - Travel Himalayas www.

travelhimalayas.in/destinations/ jammu-kashmir/97-

gulmarg.pdf 35

11. Srinagar – Sonmarg – Pahalgam – Gulmarg -

Vacations Exotica www.vacation sexotica. Com

/holiday/indian.../exotic.../exotic_kashmir.pdf

12. www.travelmarg.com › Travel Guide

13. www.wunderground.com/weatherforecast/IN/Gulma

rg.html

14. www.holidayiq.com› India › Jammu & Kashmir›

Gulmarg

15. www.gulmargski.org/mountain%20climate.html

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